by Jess Keating
He poked the front pocket of my flight suit, where I’d stored the ring.
“When I discovered how close Nolan was to perfecting his technology, I knew it was time to take a chance. I needed help and had no one else to turn to. I never thought that the two of us would be working together like this. But I’m glad you know the truth, finally.”
I took a deep breath, then reached up and connected the four clasps to secure us together. I was ready to jump, and though the night sky was still terrifying, for once I wasn’t afraid of the landing. I finally had solid footing.
“I’m glad you found me, Dad,” I said. “But you’re wrong about one thing.”
I thought of my friends, who were brave enough to explore foreign caves, steal ships, and trust a man they’d never met before. They were probably waiting for us right now, peering up into the sky from the top of Nolan’s laboratory.
“What’s that?” he asked.
I grinned. “It’s not just the two of us.”
Then I pushed him out of the airplane and into the night.
Let the record show that I, Nikola Tesla, did not pee my pants while skydiving.
I may have nearly puked. And I may have screamed like a little baby for the first twenty seconds of freefall. But overall, I think I handled the whole leaping-to-my-death thing pretty darn well.
Dad’s landing was perfect. Our midnight black parachute was nearly invisible in the sky as we landed on the rooftop helipad. We quickly unclipped it, letting it billow away from the rooftop of Nolan’s laboratory, which was nestled on a nearly empty country road far from prying eyes. The others were safely waiting for us, and there was no sign that anyone inside the building had noticed yet.
“You made it,” Leo said, giving my hand a squeeze. “We heard everything, by the way.” He tapped the GeckoDot on his shoulder. I’d totally forgotten that every team member had one tonight.
“Oh, oops.” My face flushed, but I was glad I didn’t have to repeat what I’d learned from Dad on the plane. It was time to move forward, not backward.
Leo turned to Dad. “I knew you were a good guy, Mike.”
“Is everyone ready?” Charlie cracked her knuckles. “This highly secure laboratory isn’t going to break into itself.”
“Wait,” Mo hissed, cupping his hand to his ear. He stepped closer to the edge of the roof, listening intently. “Do you hear that?”
I wiped a trickle of sweat from my forehead and tried to focus on the sounds around me. Cicadas trilled in the air, but I couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary.
“What is it?” Leo strained to listen to the dark.
Mo narrowed his eyes into the distance. “It’s the whoop of a siren,” he said. “Miles away but headed this direction.”
Dad scrunched his nose. “Are you sure? Because I can’t hear a thing …”
“If it’s making a sound, Mo can hear it,” Leo said, rocking back on his heels. “Maybe the police?”
“Bert.” Grace lifted her nose, as though she was sniffing the air. Sniffing out trouble. “Got your radio on you? Can you dial into the local police frequencies? I have a bad feeling about this.”
Bert pulled a small handheld signaler from his pocket and held it to his ear as a flash of purple in the distance caught my eye.
“There,” I said, pointing at the lights. “Blue and red lights.”
“Drat!” Charlie said. “The cavalry’s coming.”
Bert’s face fell as he held out the signaler to Grace. “They’re on their way, all right,” he explained. “I’m afraid you’re not dead anymore, Mike.”
“What?” I gawked at him.
“To the authorities,” Bert clarified. “Nolan must have tipped them off. Your dad is all over their radio waves. They’re looking for him so they can arrest him for his past crimes.”
“Crimes!” I spat. “He was framed!”
“They don’t know that,” Bert sighed.
“So what do we do?” I asked.
A sharp pang of worry shot through me. I didn’t know what kind of relationship I would have with my dad after seven years apart, but the thought of losing him made me feel sicker than skydiving. I wanted time to sort out what he was to me now.
I looked to Grace for her opinion. “Can we leave him here on the roof while we go get Mary and Nolan’s prototype?”
Grace opened her mouth to speak, but Dad interrupted her. “Not a chance,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m going with you. We all have jobs, remember? You’ll need help once we get inside, and I’m not letting you anywhere near Nolan on your own, Nikki.” He looked around the group. “None of you will be alone with him. Is that understood?”
Grace gave him a lopsided grin. “So what about the police?”
Dad scanned the roof, his gaze coming to rest on Bert. “What if we had some backup?” he asked.
“What did you have in mind?” Bert cocked his head. “A diversion?”
Dad clicked his tongue. “That research we were chatting about earlier … Do you have any working prototypes?”
A glimmer of intrigue spread over Bert’s face.
Prototypes? I hadn’t heard anything about Bert’s latest research, but somehow Dad had?
“What research?” Grace put her hand on her hip. “You holding out on us, Albert?”
Bert shuffled his feet. “No!” he said. “It’s just some new technology I was developing … Something I’ve been doing for fun.”
“Explosives,” Dad said, making no attempt to hide his smirk. “Bert here has developed a pretty revolutionary concept that can be made with minimal ingredients. It’s completely unlike any explosive on the market today. They also create a nonviolent light show that might come in handy in a pinch.”
“So … fireworks?” I tried not to look unimpressed, but considering Bert was one of the greatest minds on the planet, I expected a bit more than a glorified Fourth of July celebration.
Bert bit his lip, and his chest puffed up with pride. “Like fireworks,” he said. “But much smaller, with a bigger bang. And they’re compact. Thinner than a sheet of paper. Of course I brought some. I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to test them out.”
“Well, buddy, I’d say tonight’s your lucky night.” Leo clapped him on the back. “We can use that. Grace, Nikki, Charlie, Mo, and I will storm the castle, deal with Mary, and find Nolan’s research. You can be on police patrol. Your job is to distract the cops looking for Mike. Keep them occupied as far away from the lab as you can.”
Bert drummed his fingernails against his leg. “And how am I supposed to get down to the ground, huh?” he asked. He glanced over the edge of the roof nervously.
Grace nudged him toward the pile of black parachute material that lay balled up by his feet. “You’re a genius,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Bert’s shoulders drooped. “Fine. Charlie, can you help secure this thing, please? Maybe we can use it to lower me down …” The two of them began hauling the parachute material to the east side of the roof.
Before the rest of us could get in position, Dad grabbed my hand. “Nikki,” he said, his voice hushed, “one more thing. Leo, Grace, Mo, I want you to hear this, too. If things get out of control inside, promise me that you and the others will clear out.”
I scoffed. “Dad, please. I’m not going to leave you there alone. Don’t forget that Mary is in there because of me. I’m doing everything I can to get her out safely.”
Dad’s jaw clenched. “I’ll appeal to your intelligence, then. You’re all smart. If you calculate—if you know—that the chances of winning this fight are zilch, promise me you’ll all get out of here. How does that sound? We have a deal?”
I considered this. If I truly thought the situation was hopeless, would I want to stay and fight? It seemed to me that living to fight another day was always the smartest option. Dad wasn’t asking me to leave when he said it was time. He was leaving it up to me to decide.
I could hand
le that.
I glanced at Grace, who nodded once.
“Deal,” I said.
Dad’s shoulders dropped in relief.
Leo grinned. “Glad we got that covered,” he said. “We should probably make sure that Bert doesn’t topple off this building.”
“Thanks, Leo,” I said. Suddenly, I was super aware of my dad watching us. I cleared my throat and pretended to adjust my GeckoDot.
Grace and Charlie trotted up beside us. “Bert made it safely to the ground. Operation Distraction is a go. Everyone, check your GeckoDots. We can’t risk any miscommunications tonight.”
I pulled the dot from my collar and gave it a tap. If only we’d been able to sneak one of these on Mary, we could let her know we hadn’t left her behind. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing her to stay safe and unharmed.
Dad pointed to the duo of police cars making their way up the long stretch of road to Nolan’s laboratory. “I sure hope Bert knows what he’s doing.”
“Wait for it.” Grace squinted at the distance. “Any second now …”
A bright flash erupted on the ground below us, accompanied by a shattering bang. It was quickly followed by a sharp hoot of excitement from Bert.
The plan was in motion … whether we were ready or not.
If you ever need to create a diversion, I highly recommend you borrow a genius. Bert did his job, all right—a funnel of blue smoke spiraled through the air like a rogue balloon deflating. The police skidded to a stop a couple hundred yards away from us, gawking at the display.
And what a display it was. We spotted Bert driving a hot pink van, which jerked its way up the road, sending off sprays of sonic fireworks in random bursts out its open rear door. The words “You Look Fetching” were spray-painted across the side, along with some cartoon pictures of shaggy dogs.
“Did he find a mobile dog-washing van?” Dad asked. “Or did he make one?”
“Bert’s very creative,” Charlie said. “And great at hotwiring. Plus, he’s probably been carrying that spray paint for weeks, waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it.”
I watched in amusement as the police ducked behind their cars and fanned away the harmless smoke. Eventually, the fireworks stopped, and the pink van careened down the road. Immediately, the officers hopped back in their cruisers and sped after him. They couldn’t let a menace like Bert Einstein wreak havoc on public streets! And Bert knew it. He took a right turn at the corner, leading the police far from the target of our mission.
“And away they go,” I said. As long as they stayed away for a while, Dad wouldn’t need to worry about getting recognized or arrested.
“Time for part two,” Grace said. “The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Charlie, are you sure about this?”
Our plan was simple. We’d parachuted onto the subroof, but according to Dad’s schematics, the only way into the compound that was out of range of video surveillance was an upper window in the northeast corner. It was seven floors above us, and without a net to catch us if we slipped, Grace decided it was far too dangerous to climb, even with my Gecko Gloves.
That’s where Dad’s ring came in.
Someone needed to get up there.
No. Fly up there.
Charlie grabbed the ring from my open palm. “You bet I am! Charlotte Darwin, to the rescue!” She stuck the ring on her pointer finger and held her chin high. “I’ll fly up there and break in through the ventilation duct like we discussed. Then I’ll sabotage the cameras on these windows here, and Bob’s your uncle, in you go.”
I grabbed her arm. “Be careful, okay?” I asked. “This is serious. You’ll need to be a bird.”
“That’s the best part.” She beamed. “I can handle a little pain. I’ve always wanted to be a bird, and when else am I going to get the chance?” She cocked her head and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “What species should I be, hmm?” She gazed into the distance, getting lost in her thoughts. “Don’t want to be a penguin or ostrich now, do I? That won’t come in handy at all. Ooh, maybe I should be one of those lovely little finches from the Galápagos!”
“Charlie!” I shook her arm. “Focus! Pick any bird that is small enough to go unnoticed but able to fly all the way up there.” I pointed to the top of the building.
“That’s right,” Dad confirmed. “You want to blend in, not stand out. Good luck, Charlie. Remember what we practiced. You need to feel it in your bones. Mind over matter.”
“Mind over matter. Bird over girl. Don’t worry, guys. I got this. I’ll be five, six minutes, tops.” She cleared her throat and blinked up at the height. “Maybe seven, if I take a joy ride first.”
“Charlie,” Grace warned.
“Okay, okay. Not the time for laughs.” She gave me a quick hug and saluted everyone.
“Good luck, Chuck,” Leo added.
Charlie stepped to the edge of the building and turned her back to us.
“I can’t do this if you’re all staring at me!” Charlie said, swiveling around. “It’s like peeing when someone’s listening to you!”
Grace laughed. “We’ll turn around,” she said. She gestured for us to do the same.
I bit my fingernails and counted the seconds. Amazingly, only a few had passed before Grace spoke again. “She’s done it! Wow, look at that.” She craned her neck to squint up at a faint flicker of reflected moonlight on gray feathers.
The pride on Dad’s face was clear. “That was an incredibly seamless transformation.”
“That’s Charlie for you,” Mo said. “If anyone was going to be good at becoming an animal, it was her.”
“Now what?” I asked.
Grace crossed her arms and focused on the inky darkness. “Now we wait for a little bird to let us in.”
It seemed like even the trees around us were holding their breath, and the wind settled into silence as we waited for Charlie to safely make it inside. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be stranded on a rooftop while a bird holds your fate in its mischievous British wings, it feels a lot like trying to sneak into your house when you’re late for curfew and you know your mom will flip if she sees that you’re not in your pajamas yet.
Of course, in my case, I was only ever late for curfew because I was out testing one of my inventions or trying to sneak into a local electronics store to steal—no, borrow—some tools.
I guess some things don’t change.
Mo was right: Charlie was a natural at being a bird, because four minutes later, we heard her voice whispering out of all our GeckoDots.
“I’m in,” she said. Her words sounded tight, like she was caught in a small space without enough air. “The window should be open now.”
“Charlie!” Grace said. “You’re okay? Did anyone see you?” The muscles in her neck strained as she tilted her ear closer to the GeckoDot on her shoulder.
A beam of light shot from my dot. Charlie, broadcasting her location for us. “Of course nobody saw me!” she said. “I’m a ghost, I tell you. But look.”
The image flickered in and out of focus. Glass walls, sterilized white counters, and metal lab stools were everywhere. Charlie was somehow moving above each room, and the video display focused on her bird’s-eye view of the space.
“Charlie, what are you?” My curiosity got the best of me.
“ ‘Where am I’ would be a better question,” she answered. “See for yourself.”
She stopped moving and the image focused below again, revealing the white-tiled room below. Right in the middle, alone and silent, sat a very disheveled-looking girl in a chair.
“It’s Mary!” Leo gasped. His feet began to shift automatically on the hard concrete roof, eager to get moving.
Grace examined the image in front of us. “So where are you exactly? The rest of us can come help you free Mary while Nikki and her dad find Nolan’s prototype.”
“There’s no time,” Charlie responded. “I’m in the overhead ducts. She’s unguarded right now. I have to save her! I
can drop down directly into her room. The two of us will be able to find a way out together, I know it. You guys can deal with the research and Nolan’s prototype. Trust me, Grace. We have to adapt here. This opportunity is too good to pass up. I can get Mary out!”
Grace frowned. I knew how much she hated to stray from her plans. Nothing Grace did was haphazard, and there was always a strategy behind everything. But she was also quick on her feet and recognized a lucky break when she saw one.
“Are you positive that she’s unguarded? Can you wait for one of us to come and help? I don’t want you doing this on your own, Charlie. We can take the same route you did once we’re inside.”
Charlie giggled. “That’s going to be a bit of a pickle, my friend. The ducts are small. Like …” She paused. “Mouse small.”
My jaw dropped. “Did you turn into a mouse?!”
Leo cackled over my shoulder. “Told you she’d be good at this.”
“Maybe,” Charlie said. The image shifted down to Charlie’s feet. Or, rather, her paws. They were tiny and white, with small pink toes and sharp claws.
Ever since I first met Charlie, I’d always thought she was incredibly mouselike. Squeaky, high-pitched voice. Darting eyes. Slight frame. I shouldn’t have been surprised, really.
“And you didn’t find it difficult to transform more than once in such a short time frame?” Dad asked. He blinked in awe at the toes projected in the air in front of me.
“Nah,” Charlie said. “Clear your head and think like an animal, right? That’s what you said. I can do that.”
“Charlie, that’s brilliant,” Grace said. “Okay. If we can’t get to you, then as you say, we’ll have to adapt. You and Mary escape however you can. With the windows unsecured and nobody guarding her, you should be okay.” Concern clouded Grace’s face. I could practically see the gears turning as she weighed every option. “But if you need any help once you two get moving, call us. You hear me? Once we’re inside, I’m going to send Pickles after you—tie the ring to her collar. We may need it once you two are out of there.” She glanced at me with a pained expression.
